Poultry shackles



July 17, 1962 E. T. WAYNE POULTRY SHACKLES Filed Aug. 24, 1959 34 5.;INVENTOR [dim/(Z Tfiyroe ATTORNEY G 4 F 5 W7 Z 64 no M w w United StatesPatent 3,il44,109 PQULTRY HACKLES Edward T. Wayne, Port Crane, N.Y.,assignor to E. H.

Titchener & Co., Binghamton, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Aug.24, 1959, Ser. No. 835,681 6 Claims. (Cl. 17-441) ;sion device of thekind by which an automatic release of the suspended fowl takes place atthe conclusion of the processing operations.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device of this characterby which parts of the suspended fowl will be firmly held, but which willbe readily and positively released when desired, by means positioned inthe path of travel of the conveyor by which the shackle and thesuspended fowl are transported.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of an outerframe within which an inner fowlengaging frame is slidably mounted, andof means provided on the outer frame, and in the form of a cross memberextending between parts of the same, by which the parts of the fowl areejected from the inner frame by sliding movement of the inner frame andwhich movement is elfected by elements disposed in the path of travel ofthe conveyor by which the shackle is transported.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, I havedevised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularlypointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of theinvention is disclosed,

'FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a shackle made in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view, with the inner frame partly extended tofowl-ejecting position;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the shackle, looking at the samefrom the right of FIG. 1 and with parts fragmentarily shown;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view, taken substantially on the line 44of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the spring seat;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5 of the springseat of FIG. 5, and

FIG. 7 is a top plan view, with a portion fragmenta-rily shown, of theplate.

The improved shackle includes two main parts namely, an outer framegenerally indicated at 1, and an inner frame generally indicated at 2,and which fits within the outer frame and is slidably movable relativelyto the same. These two frames and other parts to be described, arepreferably made of non-corrosive metal or of metal treated to render itcorrosion-resistant.

The outer frame 1 is preferably largely composed of metal rod,andincludes a shank portion or suspension member 3 of substantiallyinverted U-shape, being thus provided with the leg parts 4 and 5integrally connected by the loop portion 6 and by which the device maybe suitably suspended on a conveyor or other moving or stationarysupport. At their ends remote from the loop portion 6, the leg parts 4and 5 are extended laterally to form shoulders 7 and 8, and are thenbent downwardly to form the spaced parallel legs 9 and 1d. The outerframe 1, as thus far described, is in the form of a fork of rectangularshape. At their lower ends, the legs 9 and 1t! are connected by a crossmember 11, consistice ing of two spaced plates or strips 12 and 13between which the ends of the legs 9 and 11) are securely fastened as bybeing welded thereto. Ribs 16 are formed in the plates 12 and 13 at theends thereof to facilitate the operation of welding these plates to thelegs 9 and 10. The plates 12 and 13 are also formed with inwardlydirected protuberances 15 when, when welded in contact act asspacingelements, thus holding the plates 12 and 13 together in desiredspaced relationship to form a passage 40 between them to enable parts ofthe inner frame 2 to be slidably moved through the passage 40.Depressions 14 are also formed in the plates 12 and 13 at a centralpoint, these depressions providing a passage between them of slightlyreduced width for the entry of a central loop portion 27a of the innerframe 2 to be now described.

The inner frame 2 is of a type generally resembling the shackle shown inmy Patent No. 2,613,390, dated October 14, 1952, and it is made ofnon-corrosive metallic rod and includes a pair of parallel side bars orlegs indicated respectively at 19 and 20 which are disposed closelyadjacent to and in parallelism with the legs 9 and 10 of the outerframe 1. At oneend, the bars or 7 legs 19 and 20' are connected by anintegral cross member or bar 36. The opposite end of the bar 20 isupturned to form a loop 21 and continues upwardly as indicated at 22 sothat portions of the bar 20 and part 22 cc-o-perate in the formation ofa notch 23 for receiving the leg of a fowl to be suspended in thedevice. Similarly, the leg 19 is upwardly bent to form the loop 24 andthen continues upward to form an inner leg as at 25, with the part 25and the part 19 co-operating in the formation of a leg-receiving notch26. A substantially V-shaped brace member 27 of metallic rod has itsdiverging arms welded to the parts 22 and 25 and it forms a notch 28which can be used to hold a neck or other part of a fowl to besuspended. The portion of the brace member 27 which forms the notch 28is flattened slightly as shown at 27a, which flattened portion passesbetween the depressed parts 14 of the plates 12 and 13 as clearly seenin FIG. 4. The upper end of the part 22 extends upwardly in the form ofa branch 22a which projects between the leg portions 4 and 5 of theouter frame and alongside of the stem 25a that forms a continuation ofthe part 25. The parts 22a and 25a are offset at the point indicated at29 to enable them to clear the cross bar 36. Stem 25a I is provided atits upper end with a plate 34, secured to the upper end of the stem 25aby means of the nuts 30 and 3-1 or other equivalent fastening means. Theplate 34 is provided with a central slot 43 through which the shank 3,and particularly the leg portions 4 and 5 thereof pass, permitting theplate 34 to be moved relatively to the shank 3 as indicated in FIG. 2.

At 33 is shown a spring seat in the form of a fiat metaldiskprovidedwith a central slot 4-2 through which the shank 3 of theouter frame passes. The seat 33 rests upon the shoulders 7 and 8 and isprovided with an annular rib 41 in it near its peripheral edge, said ribacting to confine one end of a coil spring 32 that rests against theseat 33. The opposite end of the coil spring rests against the underside of the plate 34;

From the foregoing, the operation of the improved shackle will'bereadily apparent. The chicken or other fowl to be processed is suspendedin the shackle by having its legs inserted in the notches 243 and 26 andits neck may also, if desired be inserted in the notch 23-, or any oneor more of the notches may be employed by which to suspend the poultry.The loading of the shackle is performed while the shackle is suspendedon suitable conveying means and while the parts of the shackle are inthe positions shown in FIG. 1. At that time, the fowlreceiving notchesare in their retracted position, or are so elevated by the spring 32 asto be positioned above' the upper edge of the cross member 11. Near theend of travel of the conveyor, and during which travel the processingsteps will have been completed, the plate 34 is carried under fixedelements, such as cam members, and the plate 34 is depressed thereby andto an extent somewhat greater than that shown in FIG. 2, and suchdownward pressure imposed on the plate 34 causes the inner frame 2 to beslidably moved in a downward direction. It will be noted that theopposite ends of the plate 34 are downwardly inclined as shown at 35, tofacilitate the engagement of the plate 34 by the, plate-depressingmeans, such as the cams mentioned above.

As the inner frame 2 is moved downwardly in opposition to the forceexerted by the spring 32, the parts, such as the legs or neck or eitherof them, of the suspended fowl. that are engaged in the notches 23, 26and 28, come into contact with the upper edges of the plates 12 and 13of cross member 11, with the result that these parts of the fowl areejected from the notches and the fowl is thus released automaticallyfrom the shackle. When the cam or other pressure on the plate 34 isceased,

. the spring 32 restores the inner frame 2 to its retracted or raisedposition within the outer frame, as shown in FIG. '1 and the device isthen in readiness to receive another fowl for processing.

The device is composed of a minimum of parts and may because of itsconstruction be easily cleansed and kept sanitary; -it utilizes nopivoted levers or elements likely to stick or clog, and the action ofejecting the fowl is a positive and automatic one, the cross bar 11being simultaneously operative on all parts of the engaged fowl to ejectthe same.

Having described a single embodiment of the invention, l

being composed of metallic rod, said frame being shaped it is obviousthat the same is not to be restricted thereto,

but is board enough to cover all structures coming within the scope ofthe annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. A shackle having an outer frame provided with spaced legs and aloopedshank, an inner frame slidably movable relatively to the outerframe, the inner framebeing provided with notches to receive parts of afowl, a cross member extending between the legs of the outer frame, saidcross member including spaced elements providing a passage between themand through which the.

parts of the inner frame having the notches are slidably movable inamanner to cause the parts of the fowl tobe .2 inverted U-shaped shankextending from the shoulders, a spring seat in the form of a disk seatedon the shoulders, said disk having a central slot through which theshank extends, said shank including a suspension loop at one end, aninner frame slidably mounted Within the outer frame and provided at oneend with notches for receiving parts of a fowl, the frame having a stemat its other end, said stern slidably fitting within the shank, a crossmember connecting the legs of the outer frame, said cross member beingin the form of spaced plates providing a passage between them andthrough which the notched parts of the inner frame are slidable, a coilspring having one end resting aganst the spring-seat, a plate secured onthe end of the stern, and the second end of the coil spring restingagainst said plate.

4. In a shackle, an inner frame composed of metallic rod and shaped intorectangular form and having leg-receiving notches, an outer frame largerthan the inner forced out of the notches by contact with the cross mem-7 bet, and springmeans normallyope'rative on the inner frame to maintainthe inner frame nested, Within the outer frame and with its notchespositioned free of the cross member.

2. A shackle comprising an outer frame in the form of 'a forkedmemberincluding a pair of spacedlegs, shoulders at one end of the legs, aninverted U-shaped shank ex-,, tending from the shoulders, said shankincluding a sus} pension loop atone end, an inner frame slidably mountedwithin the outer frame and provided at one-end with frame and fittingaround the outside of the inner frame, the outer frame including a crossmember composed of spaced elements defining a passage between themthrough which the parts .of the inner frame provided with the notchesare slidably movable to thereby cause the legs of a fowl then positionedin the notches to be struck by parts of the cross member and therebyforced out of the notches, a spring operative on the inner frame tomaintain it Within the outer frame with its notches maintained out i ofthe passage in the cross member, and means carried at one end to providea plurality of notches to receive parts of a fowl, an outer frame withinwhich the inner frame is slidable, said .outer frame including spacedlegs connected by a cross member, said cross member .con-

sisting of elements spaced apart to provide a passage between them andthrough which the parts of the inner frame provided with the notches aremoved to cause eject-ion by contact with parts of the cross bar withparts of the fowl engaged by the notches, the inner frame having acentral stem located remotely from its notches, the outer frame beingprovided with a loop within which the stem is slidable, an abutmentcarried by the end of the stem, the outer frame being provided with aseat, and a coil spring extending around the loop and having one endmaintained against the abutment and the other end rested against theseat on the outer frame.

6. A shackle comprising, an outer frame having a cross bar at one end,said cross bar consisting of a pair of plates maintained in spacedrelation to provide a passage between them, 'a suspension loop at theother end of said outer frame, an inner frame fitted within the outerframe and slidable relatively thereto, the 'inner frame having notchesfor receiving parts of a fowl, the frame having a V,

stem at its other end, said stem slidably fitting within the shank, across member connecting the legs of the outer frame, said cross memberhaving a passagethrough which the notches areslidable, a seat providedon the shoulders of the outer frame, a coil spring having one endresting against said seat, a plate mounted on the end of the stem,

and the second end of the coil spring resting against said plate,wherein said seat is in the form of a disk provided with a centralaperture through which the stem is slidable; and the plate is providedwith downwardly-bent portions at its opposite ends.

3. A shackle comprisingan outer frame including a pair of spaced legs,shoulders at one end of the legs, an

fowl-receiving loop parts, said loop parts being movable between :theplates of the cross bar on sliding movement of the inner frame, and in amanner to cause any fowl parts held by said fowl-receivingloops parts tobe disengaged by contact with the plates of the cross bar, and means fornormally maintaining the fowl-receiving loop parts of the inner frameaway from the cross bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED. STATES PATENTS

